Ever since I own a MacBook Pro M1 Max, I have a hard time plugging it into an external monitor. I currently own a "basic" Dell 4k, 27" one, but both the colours and the high refresh rate from the MacBook spoiled me.<p>I tried to search for premium monitors with a high-refresh rate, but can only find gaming monitors. What is the HN crowd using? Anyone in the same boat as me and solved it for them?
Every few years, I take a look at bunch of monitors to see if there is something better out there, but I always return to Benq's panels as I've never found something better. I think they are a bit on the more expensive side, but taking into account I spend a lot of time looking at the screen, it should be a good one.<p>With that said, I've never used any of the "high-refresh rate" ones and also I'm not really sure what is considered a "high-refresh rate" one (above 60?), but here are some I found:<p>- <a href="https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/gaming/ex3210u.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/gaming/ex3210u.html</a><p>- <a href="https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/gaming/ex2780q.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/gaming/ex2780q.html</a><p>- <a href="https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/gaming/ex3415r.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/gaming/ex3415r.html</a><p>They are labeled "gaming" monitors, but I think that's just because of the high refresh-rate. Not sure if there is any other difference but some features (like AMD FreeSync), why they avoidance of monitors labeled "gaming" specifically, if I may ask?<p>Personally I use the Benq Designer panels, because the color is more important for me than the refresh-rate, but those don't seem to be available with high refresh-rate.
Be Wary of ASUS Proart Displays. They have beautiful panels. But everything around them is a PITA.<p>1. Long bootup time. You are waiting 30 secs to see the ASUS logo and it to initialize.<p>2. M1 based machines have trouble initializing/re-initializing them after sleep. This is probably a bug in the monitor or maybe the M1 macs. Its annoying when you combine it with the previous issue because to fix this issue you have to switch to a different input or turn the monitor off and on once a day. I have resorted to setting my sleep delay to 3 hours to prevent it going to sleep.<p>3. The stands are not always the best: things can get wobbly if you are using a cheap table like an Ikea table.<p>4. The process of changing input can require multiple key presses depending on model.<p>5. Many of them have super thin bezels(apart from the large ASUS chin at the bottom): looks great but be careful as if you even place the panel gently face down for a second just to wipe the dust off the back you risk cracking the panel(ask me how I know).<p>6. Terrible speakers (I guess this was a given but i'll throw it in there)<p>....but they do ship beautiful panels.<p>On a side note: I am downright fed up with all these "youtube reviewers" never covering any of these quality of life features. I spend hundreds of dollars just to feel like chump when I get stuck with issues like this, none of which are ever discussed on Youtube. I have been burned so many times that I am considering just writing off their opinions altogether. Anyone else starting to feel like that?
Consider looking at <a href="https://www.rtings.com/monitor" rel="nofollow">https://www.rtings.com/monitor</a>.<p>I've also got an Macbook Pro and I decided to buy Acer Nitro XV272UKV for my dual setup but I wouldn't recommend them if someone is about to use them next to each other.
I think you might be interested in the Iiyama G-Master GB3467WQSU-B1. It is a 3440×1440 px, 34-inch monitor which works at 165 Hz with 0.4 ms response rate. It is a Vertical Alignment monitor, so its viewing angles and colors are less awesome than OLED or IPS (but still has an excellent mean ΔE of 2.3). It does not use Pulse-Width Modulation (if you are sensitive to that).<p>Its only big drawback (preventing me from buying it) is that I occasionally play competitive games, and that monitor has FreeSync but not G-Sync, and I use an Nvidia GPU.
For my gaming setup, I've been using 2 Samsung Odyssey G7 (model LS28AG700NNXZA) monitors for a few months. (28" 4k 144hz) After turning off the LEDs on the back, they don't give off obnoxious gamer vibes. They seem brighter and more saturated than any other displays I've used. Of course, the visuals are super smooth, both spatially and temporally. I haven't used them for any paid work, but I've been working on my blog with them. The only downside is that they have external power bricks. (Didn't monitors lose those 15 years ago?)<p>I don't know how they would work on Macs. There are monitors with the exact same specs from multiple manufacturers, and they all seem to use the same Innolux M280DCA-E7B panel. I looked at the equivalent 32" monitors, but a review or two said the 28" ones had less ghosting (AKA 'faster').<p>I'm 100% satisfied. I wonder when everyone else's ~24" 1080p60 monitors will look old and outdated to me.
This seems to me to be the perfect programming monitor.
<a href="https://www.lg.com/sg/consumer-monitors/lg-28mq780-b" rel="nofollow">https://www.lg.com/sg/consumer-monitors/lg-28mq780-b</a>
Since you have a Macbook Pro and you want a premium experience your only real options right now are new Studio Displays, Apple XDR or LG5k.<p>For whatever reasons MacOS or the hardware does not perform well unless you using screens that are near or the same PPI as laptop display. Using a 4k monitor will result in some scaling artifacts.<p>With that said, I know a lot of people who use 4k monitors with their MBPs with no complaint however I also know the reverse who can't stand it. I'm with the latter camp and use a LG5k which is just an OK monitor but everything is crystal clear.
High refresh rate? Maybe a Samsung G9 Neo? 240 Hz, good input latency and great HDR(2000 nits) for the price. That would be much smoother than the MacBook display with much less latency and ghosting.
Can you say what refresh rate you're wanting? You said "high refresh rate", i assume you're not looking for a 240hz setup, which would probably be a waste in a non-gaming setup. Guessing above 60hz is game? If so, you might like some of the Asus ProArt displays. My spouse has one of the 32" ProArts it's a solid display.<p>Regardless rtings.com is your friend here they have a pretty decent size review db. fwiw - I wouldn't rule out a monitor just because its a "gaming monitor".
What applications besides gaming makes use of higher refresh rates?<p>Video seems to rarely go over 30 fps and even more rarely over 60 fps. What else involves fast motion? Rearranging windows and icons?
There are several good recommendations (along with analysis and reasons) from the latest Hardware Unboxed video. This channel does a great job on all their hardware reviews, but they are the best when it comes to their display reviews. The video in the link below focuses on the best 4K displays as of April:<p><a href="https://youtu.be/xoFXZa6Rfbw" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/xoFXZa6Rfbw</a>
I picked up a 49" Samsung Odyssey ultrawide. It looks ridiculous but it's such a game changer. It's effectively two decent sized 4K screens glued together and is much nicer than the awkwardness of multiple displays. It's 144hz and supports HDR.<p>It has a picture-in-picture mode too, letting you effectively have two monitors for different inputs should you need that.
I use a gaming monitor with an inoffensive design and a monitor arm. You can't easily tell that it's a gaming monitor because I'm not using the ugly stand that came with the monitor.